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Bike theft pair sentenced
for stealing almost £10,000 worth of cycles
A man, who worked as part of a 2 man crime team, stealing
15 bikes, over a 6 week period, from Railway Stations in Cheshire and
Merseyside, has been jailed for 7 months following an investigation by Officers
from the British Transport Police. Dale Murphy, aged 22, from Liverpool, was
sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court, on Wednesday, 18 May 2016, after pleading
guilty to stealing 15 bikes, along with Neil Gandy, also 22, from Liverpool. The
court heard that between 20 February and 10 April 2016, both Murphy, and his
partner in crime Gandy, operated in the Cheshire and Merseyside area, repeatedly
targeting Railway Stations, at Widnes, Hunts Cross, Warrington Bank Quay,
Warrington Central and Liverpool South Parkway, as well as committing additional
bike thefts in Warrington Town Centre and the Speke area. Over the course of 6
weeks, between them Murphy and Gandy stole high value bikes, totalling almost
£10,000, in some cases abandoning them at Stations if a more expensive model
caught their eye, then using the Rail Network to transport the stolen property.
CCTV images from the Stations identified Murphy and Gandy, as the thieves and
mobile phone data placed them at the locations of the thefts. A subsequent
search of Murphy and Gandy's home addresses revealed numerous bike parts. Both
pleaded guilty to 15 bike thefts. Dale Murphy was sentenced to 7 months in jail
and Gandy received a 7 month suspended sentence, for 2 years with a 35 day
rehabilitation order, along with a 3 month curfew. Investigating officer
PC Ray Williams said:- "Indisputable CCTV evidence tied Murphy and Gandy
to the scene of their crimes and thankfully put an end to their crime spree. The
pair clearly saw the bikes as an easy target and stole high value cycles
totalling approximately £10,000, most of which were successfully recovered and
returned to their owners. Given the amount of bike parts found at their homes we
can only assume that the pair had been stripping some of the bikes in a bid to
disguise others they had stolen. While Murphy is behind bars and Gandy received
a suspended sentence, opportunist bike thieves are still out there and we would
remind cyclists to always ensure their bikes are well secured in designated
areas when leaving them at stations. If you have saved to buy an expensive model
then it's worth investing in a top notch lock to prevent it being stolen."
To learn how to protect your Bike from theft, visit:-
BikeRegister.com
and also go to:-
immobilise.com for information and tips. |
